Afanasy Grigoriev’s house

В начале переулка сохранился почти неприметный особнячок. Это дом архитектора Афанасия Григорьевича Григорьева, построенный им для себя и своей семьи.
В XVIII в. эта территория входила в обширное владение Глебовых. В 1842 г. владение разделили и продали по частям. Землю под дом купил и Григорьев.

Архитектор, которого, как и О.И. Бове, справедливо называют мастером московского ампира, родился крепостным помещика В. Кретова. Он же и определил смышленого мальчика на обучение к архитектору Ивану Дементьевичу Жилярди.

Григорьев проявил незаурядные успехи, но зависимое крепостное положение не давало ему права работать самостоятельно. Вольную он получит лишь в 1804 г. и со следующего года стал архитектором Ревизион-Коллегии. После нашествия Наполеона архитектор принял активное участие в Комиссии для строений, восстанавливая Москву: Большой Манеж, Московский университет, Воспитательный дом на Солянке, построил ряд особняков.

Григорьев был женат дважды. Первый раз — на сестре архитектора Ф.М. Шестакова. Она умерла, умер и ее брат. Григорьев и жена Шестакова остались вдовцами, горе сблизило их, и они поженились. В семье появилось трое сыновей, и пришло время задуматься о собственном доме.

Приобретя участок в Милютинском переулке, Афанасий Григорьевич построил дом, удобный для жизни большой семьи и для своей работы: каменный, в пять окон, с верхним антресольным этажом. Внутреннее пространство компактно и рационально: первый этаж был разделен на парадную половину и пониженные задние комнаты. Парадная часть состояла из зала и кабинета-приемной с камином. Окна этой части полуциркульные и выходят на улицу. Задние комнаты — с четырехчастными окнами, выходят во двор. В этих комнатах были столовая и чертежная — рабочее место архитектора. Лестница ведет на антресоли, где были спальни членов семьи.

В 1844 г., в возрасте шестидесяти двух лет, Григорьев с женой и детьми переехал в свой дом и прожил в нем до своей кончины в 1868 г. Наследником стал младший сын Михаил — живописец.

В 1923 г. в доме располагалось книгоиздательство союза анархо-синдикалистов «Голос труда». Они издали полные собрания сочинений М. Бакунина, П.А. Кропоткина и др.

Печально, что в этом уютном доме, построенном с такой любовью, больше никто не живет. Сюда приходят лишь на работу сотрудники офисов.

At one end of Milyutinsky lane, there is an almost inconspicuous little mansion. This is the house of the architect Afanasy Grigoriev, which he designed and built for himself and his family. Back in the 18th century, this land plot was part of a vast property owned by the Glebovs, a noble family. In 1842, the property was divided and sold in parts. One of the new owners was Afanasy Grigoriev, who bought the land to build a house for himself and his family. The architect, who, along with O. Bové, is rightfully considered to be one of the paragons of the Moscow Empire style, was born a serf owned by the landlord Nikolay Kretov. The latter recognized the boy's potential and sent him to the architect Giovanni Gilardi to become an apprentice. Afanasy showed remarkable progress, but, because of his status as a serf, he was not able to work independently. He wouldn't get his freedom until 1804, and that same year, he became one of the architects in the employ of the Collegium of Accounting (an executive body of the Russian government). After Napoleon's invasion of Russia, which resulted in the infamous Fire of Moscow, the architect took up a post in the Commission of Building, an institution set up to rebuild the city. He oversaw the restoration of the Moscow Manege, Moscow State University, and the Orphanage on Solyanka street. He also designed and constructed numerous mansions in the city center. Afanasy Grigoriev was married twice in his life. His first wife, the sister of the architect Fyodor Shestakov, died an early death; soon after, her brother died too. Left widowed, Grigoriev and Fyodor Shestakov's wife bonded in their grief, and got married. Their union produced three sons, and it was time for them to find a home. After acquiring the land plot on Milyutinsky lane, Grigoriev built a house that was both a comfortable place for his large family to live in, and a suitable environment for him to exercise his talent: a sturdy building of stone, with five windows and a mezzanine floor. The internal space is arranged very efficiently: the first floor is divided into a front part and a lowered back part with separate rooms. The front part includes a hall and a reception room that also serves as a study, complete with a fireplace. This part has the semicircular windows overlooking the street. The back rooms - a dining hall and a drawing room, the architect's main workplace - have four-section casement windows facing the courtyard. A staircase leads to the mezzanine, where the bedrooms of the family members are. In 1844, Grigoriev - 62 at the time - moved into the house with his wife and children. He lived there until his death in 1868. The house was inherited by his youngest son Mikhail, a painter. In 1923, the house accommodated the Golos Truda ('Voice of the Labour') publishing house, owned by Russia's Anarcho-Syndicalist Union. The house published complete works of Mikhail Bakunin, Pyotr Kropotkin and other anarchist thinkers. Regretfully, the cozy house, built with so much affection, has no residents at the moment. The only people that come here are the employees of the various companies that have offices in the building.